Ashianna

Sorry for not replying to this right away but a nasty cold has had me down for the last few days. Love autumn, hate the colds I always get when the weather changes. And that's good to hear! I took what everyone said to heart and read up on whatever lore I could find here (Thanks Sounsyy! ) and elsewhere. Thanks for the great advice, everyone! Can't wait to get her out there and rp. Here she is... Sayuri Onishi

You've all definitely given me much to think about. I have also been trying to decide if i wanted to have being a shinobi as part of her background. Her being from Doma does make that a bit easier to explain. I had been leaning heavily towards choosing a feudal Japanese name, but if this "title" as a surname to protect the family of a shinobi is more practical, I may have to rethink that. Sometimes picking the perfect name is more difficult than working out the details of a characters background. :dazed:

That is kind of the inspiration for the character. The character that was a tattoo artist in the other game I played was another race that was inspired by Japanese culture. I didn't even think about using irezumi for inspiration. I could see that working very well in this world with the magic we can manipulate. Thank you, Gegenji! I have been reading up on anything I can find on Doman culture, both here and offsite, so I am hoping to make her as lore compatible as I can. While I know that the aesthetician can certainly "apply" those tattoos, I know that some do enjoy rping out acquiring a tattoo and as it lets me be creative with my own art, I thought it was a nice service I could provide for those that might like it. I'm all about helping others in their rp

As the title says, I recently returned to the game and just couldn't get into Ashianna's rp anymore, so I decided to work on a new character. Borrowing from a concept I have played before in a similar rp, I decided to roll a Doman midlander. I've been searching Edo-era Japanese names, and have a couple I like, but I am undecided as far as the last name. Do they tend to be Japanese as well? or are they similiar to Yugiri Mistwalkers name? I'm still fleshing out her background, but I feel like I have a pretty good grasp of it. One thing I do want to be a part of it is that she is a tattoo artist. Being a fledgling artist myself, I thought it would be a fun way to bring that into the game. I've read some discussion about magical tattoo's and there is no doubt that tattoo's are worn in this world, how does the application of them work in this world? Obviously, with magitech, mammets, and other constructs in the world, we have some technology. Do they have such things as tattoo needles and the like? In the other game I played a similar concept in, there was hardly any technology. There was a lot of magic, so tattoo's were applied with magical ink and worked rp wise for most anyone that sought her out for tattooing. I want to make sure it is lore compliant for this game however. Thanks for any help all you wonderful lore people have in advance!! <3

Drawing is just a hobby right now. When I'm writing or roleplaying my characters with others, a picture of the scene plays through my head like a movie, just like a good book, and I've always wanted to draw what I "see" but didn't believe I had the skills. I finally decided to tell that little monster sitting on my shoulder telling me such evil things to get lost, I was going to start drawing again anyway lol I'm really enjoying it, though I know I still have a long way to go to be where I'd like to be. It'll come in time What many of you have mentioned about art schools doesn't surprise me. I had heard a few things as well and wasn't sure that was really a road I wanted to go down. It's so hard to trust those kinds of places. Even my husband ran into that same issue with a sub-par college when getting his IT degree, however he at least has many years of experience under his belt now...and of course we are STILL paying on his school loans. Not sure I want to add in another few hundred dollars of debt a month to that.

Updated with Coatleque's doodle. Not sure why I was so anxious, that was kinda fun! :thumbsup:

I've been watching this thread excitedly, yet too nervous to show off my own skills to jump in. I think I might be finally ready to give it a go, so I'm going to jump in here and draw a Coatleque. I wanted to do more to it but in the spirit of the challenge, I tried to keep it quick and simple. Edit: Oops, forgot to add my references...take your pick! Ashianna: Sadly, I only have the one pic I use for my avatar, clearly she needs to take more selfies. Here is a link to the bigger picture if you wish to draw her. http://imgur.com/a/OysR8 Alyanissa: Don't ask, she's a pirate witch that loves to change her hair color on a whim. Sadly, she needs major help on her pirate garb. Her player has been slacking. http://imgur.com/a/huhnf Illyssa: While less played than the other two, I still very much enjoying her attitude. Very much an Ala Mhigan and a fighter at heart. http://imgur.com/a/Hxp6g

I very much enjoyed our last art discussion so I thought I'd start another one. As I have been working on getting better with my art the last few months, one thing continually pops into my head. Do I want to do this for a hobby or do I want to take it further? The subject of art school has come up a time or two between my husband and I as well. I very much enjoy sketching as a hobby and the thought of making things for other people that makes them happy makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. "Who wouldn't like to supplement their income, though?" That is what my husband started to say when bringing up the topic of art school. I know there are many fields out there for those that are artistically inclined, though I would say that I lean more towards the illustration side of things rather than say, graphic design. Perhaps a concept or character artist, but I am not sure how abundant those type of jobs are, and I have to wonder if they wouldn't end up wanting someone younger than myself, being in my late 30's. It makes me wonder if it would make sense to rack up a student loan bill that I'd have to pay for the next decade. Especially when there is so much out there now with the internet, books, video tutorials, skillshare classes, etc. I do want to be the best that *I* can be, but at this point I am just enjoying the journey. I have no delusions of grandeur about being a millionaire artist lol (much to my hubs dismay, I'm sure ) So I guess after all that I am curious. How many of you Art for a living or at least hope to when you are finished school? Do you believe that someone has to go to school to become a skilled artist? How many of you are like me, where this is more of a hobby for you? How many of you have no formal schooling and are just that amazing talented and make an okay living at this? I'm excited to hear from our wonderfully diverse community

Totally alright! Got a smile and laugh out of me! And hey, it's still art! I've seen some of my friends do amazing things with pliers. One of them makes beautiful Jewelry. Now that is a talent I am envious of! I'd just make a mess of the wires. :cry: Definitely! I glad that other people were able to take away something from this thread as well. I don't have a lot of artistic friends to ask these questions. Most people I know would look at me like I had two heads, so I am very glad we have a collective of artist here to help and support each other. :love:

It has actually! I think I am going to stick with my Intous PT Medium at the moment, but several software names have been listed that I am going to look into. As far as something a bit more portable (other than pen and paper of course! ), I'm going to take a bit longer to decide and do my research. Several people have made some great points to think about and tablets are expensive, so no need for me to rush. Perhaps when I'm feeling a bit more confident and have a few decent pieces to share, I'll add some art to the forums here. Thanks for all the input, everyone!

I just took a look at these. Very nice selection! Thank you for passing it along. I think I'll have to give a few of these a try

How do you like Manga Studio 5? I had considered getting it before I saw the sale around Christmas/New Years for a year of Sketchbook Pro for $15. I figured it's as much as a sub for the many mmo's out there for a years worth of use, so I decided to give SBP a try.

I've thought about the Surface Pro 3 as well. I have heard good things about that one. When I started drawing all those years ago *coughs* I did it with paper and pencils or charcoal. It wasn't until the last couple years that I have tried to learn the digital way of doing things. I actually have Photoshop CS6, but I don't know it that well yet. I've also used Sketchbook Pro a bit and it's definitely easier, but I know there is way more functionality in PS. I'm sure I'll learn how to use it better in time. I'm still up in the air on what I want to buy, but you all have definitely given me some food for thought. It's definitely a big purchase and something I want to consider carefully before doing so. The only plus to getting the Ipad Pro is I can get it through my cellular company and make payments on it instead of paying it all up front :lol: Even with the easy of payments, I want to make sure I'll be happy with. There are many choices out there and since this is the only one i am going to be getting for a long, LONG while, I figured I better do my research. It definitely helps hearing what other artists experience's are with all the choices that are out there. Thank you, everyone! :love: (That's definitely not my way of ending the discussion, I'd love to hear more of what people think. Besides, might help another future artist! )

Hey there! It's been awhile since I've posted on these forums and i'm not in game as much as I once was, partially due to the fact that I have started drawing seriously again. I haven't really done so steadily since my early 20's, but I hoping with practice it will come back quickly. Aside from traditional drawing (pencil and paper, which I do as well) hubby has been telling me that I can update my art stuff if I'd like so I've been browsing around. Currently, I have the Wacom Intuos Pen and Touch Medium Tablet which still works well enough for being 3 years old, but I also draw from time to time on a Note tablet with the stylus. I do enjoy the portability of drawing on the tablet yet there aren't quite as many features as you can get on a PC. I've heard lots of good things about the Ipad Pro and the Apple Pencil, but I want to do A LOT of research before I drop that kind of money on a tablet of my own. Those things are as expensive as the cheaper Cintiq's.... :dazed: So, what do you use to make all the wonderful art I have seen on these boards? Any recommendations you may have as I continue my research is also very welcome!

I usually do rp my class in most games. When I build my character, I usually pick the class first and then build my backstory around the class from there. However, this game gives gives you a bit more leeway since we can do more than one class on a character, so I don't have their rp narrowed down to just one class. One of my girls is a healer, but she is studying in all forms of healing, from stitches and bandaging to Conjury, Astrology, and Scholar. Anything to make her a better healer. My other girl is a pirate mage/witch that favors Thaumaturgy, though being a pirate she is also well versed in fighting with blade (rogue), gun (machinist) and fists (pugilist). She's not a master in the melee arts by any means (because that would be overpowered!), but she does well enough to stay alive when unable to use magic.